Insomniacs
by carved in the sand
Summary: Days and days and days would pass, and still she would not sleep - ulquihime


**A/N:** _Ulquihime just calls to me late at night. I swear it's not me. Anyways, I'm not particularly adept at writing these two, because I just got into Bleach this summer. So. You know. Constructive criticism welcome._

* * *

Days and days and days would pass, and she would not sleep.

Strange sounds - _creaking, creeping footsteps outside of her door - _and stranger worries - _Aizen inviting her to a tea party, whether or not she'd left her kitchen light at home, the moon suddenly falling from the sky through sheer exhaustion from staying in the sky for so long - _would keep her up for days on end, until she would pass out from exhaustion. It made her constantly tired, but she was too anxious and scared to even close one eye of her own free will.

Orihime would find the most impromptu ideas to keep Ulquiorra by her side before she was supposed to sleep, an excuse to keep herself awake as long as possible. If it was inane requests for the strangest of foods, a walk outside, or even the long rambling conversations she liked to have with him while he pretended to tune her out as she played with his hair, she would fight like hell for it.

As discreetly as possible.

Of course, Ulquiorra could quite clearly see the darkening of her eyes and the frailness of her body as time wore on. The girl was no actress.

It was one of those night where she would talk for hours on end when he finally said something.

"You know, one of these days, that moon is going to fall out of the sky. Just drop out of view and leave is without anything up there because it's do tired. It's up in the sky all the time! There isn't a sun to take it's place while it sleeps during the day! Or is it night? I still haven't figured it out, Ulquiorra-kun," Orihime mimbled through a lioness yawn, curled into herself on her bed, her upper body leaning onto Ulquiorra. He sat cross-legged on the floor in front of her, hunched over irately as she brushes her hands along his scalp in a soothing manner that eased the ever-present rigidity of his shoulders. She'd found his hair feather-like and infinitely fun to run her fingers through after one long, tiring night.

"You look as if you'd do the same at any second, woman. And stop calling me that," he said, trying to block out the tingling sensation that ran down his spine as she worked her finger through the silken black locks.

"I can't sleep," she said tiredly, ignoring him. "What if the moon falls out the sky? I need to be awake for that, you know."

He sighed heavily, his shoulders drooping further. "Woman, you're sounding more ridiculous than usual. Do you understand the severity of that statement?"

"Ne, Ulquiorra-kun, you're so mean. But you have really nice hair." For emphasis, she dragged her hand from the crown of his head to the back of it, brushing along his neck. Ulquiorra nearly shuddered at the feeling, the quiet, innocent pleasure turning harsher, pulling sharply at his nerve endings.

"Go to sleep," he drawled, trying to keep his voice as unaffected as possible. "You're keeping me from my own slumber."

"I'll sleep…..if you stay here. With me," she clarified with no amount of shyness, to tired to care about the inappropriateness of her request. "Please? I'm really anxious and worried. I promise, I won't even talk."

He sighed, loudly, and Orihime was already smiling brightly. She always felt much more safe with him. "Wake me up if the moon falls, okay? Or if my friends come. I don't want to keep them waiting if I'm asleep."

Her words startled him out of his almost-lustful haze, blinking into clarity the abject humanness that was built into her glass-like bones and just where her loyalties lay.

Where they would always lay.

Ulquiorra, tense and irritated for reasons he would continue to deny, thought about the woman, whose head had fallen over his should in sleep, and just how long she would continue staying in this palace, jow long it would be until her friends came to rescue her and die trying.

He did not sleep.


End file.
